4
Surprisingly accessible if you are ambulatory
This was my first time visiting in a wheelchair. I use a foldable electric wheelchair and I'm ambulatory with an invisible disability.
I emailed the venue ahead of time to ask about accessibility and they were quite helpful. You are technically supposed to provide medical evidence ahead of time to get priority queueing (which is good for those with invisible disabilities who do not use mobility aids), but when they saw me in my wheelchair they let me (and my companions) skip the queue without question.
I was able to attend all the animal exhibits I wanted to, although there can be some back-and-forth with lifts. For the rides, they all require you to get out of the chair (with a few notable exceptions; see the end of my post) but most will let you drive your chair within a few steps away from the ride seat. Sometimes this involves being taken around the back to use the lift. You can then leave your chair nearby where a staff member keeps an eye on it. There's no need to book rides ahead of time, you simply roll up with your chair and they will do their best to help you; sometimes you need to wait a few minutes for them to get a staff member to bring you through. I was able to use my walking stick to help me get into the ride itself, but I needed to hand this over to a staff member during the rides as they wouldn't allow me to keep it with me (even on relatively sedate rides like The Rapids).
I only ran into issues with two rides. 1) Arctic Blast, the queue and platform are up a flight of stairs and I could not see a way to access it in my wheelchair. I ended up using my cane and standing in the queue, which took about 40 minutes. I was able to have some family members watch my chair while I did this. 2) Crazy Galleon, the queue and platform are down a flight of stairs, again with no way to access it in my wheelchair; however this queue was empty so I was able to walk through it with relative ease. Before I went down, I flagged down a staff member and after some back-and-forth, persuaded her to watch my chair while I rode the ride. It took a bit of explaining as to why I couldn't just leave it unattended, but she was helpful once she understood.
Notable exceptions for rides that did not require me to get out of my chair: 1) The cable car - I was really surprised. They have wheelchair accessible cars and place down a temporary (but rather steep) metal ramp for you to get onto; these cars have one seat for a companion. They pause the entire ride to allow you to get on without rushing. 2) Ocean Express - however if it's a busy time, expect to be sharing with a lot of prams. I believe there are a couple others but the website is not the most informative so I would recommend contacting them by email.
Overall, I was apprehensive before going but had a lovely time. The only negative thing is that you can't really just turn around and say you want to go again - at least I didn't dare ask!
This was my first time visiting in a wheelchair. I use a foldable electric wheelchair and I'm ambulatory with an invisible disability.
I emailed the venue ahead of time to ask about accessibility and they were quite helpful. You are technically supposed to provide medical evidence ahead of time to get priority queueing (which is good for those with invisible disabilities who do not use mobility aids), but when they saw me in my wheelchair they let me (and my companions) skip the queue without question.
I was able to attend all the animal exhibits I wanted to, although there can be some back-and-forth with lifts. For the rides, they all require you to get out of the chair (with a few notable exceptions; see the end of my post) but most will let you drive your chair within a few steps away from the ride seat. Sometimes this involves being taken around the back to use the lift. You can then leave your chair nearby where a staff member keeps an eye on it. There's no need to book rides ahead of time, you simply roll up with your chair and they will do their best to help you; sometimes you need to wait a few minutes for them to get a staff member to bring you through. I was able to use my walking stick to help me get into the ride itself, but I needed to hand this over to a staff member during the rides as they wouldn't allow me to keep it with me (even on relatively sedate rides like The Rapids).
I only ran into issues with two rides. 1) Arctic Blast, the queue and platform are up a flight of stairs and I could not see a way to access it in my wheelchair. I ended up using my cane and standing in the queue, which took about 40 minutes. I was able to have some family members watch my chair while I did this. 2) Crazy Galleon, the queue and platform are down a flight of stairs, again with no way to access it in my wheelchair; however this queue was empty so I was able to walk through it with relative ease. Before I went down, I flagged down a staff member and after some back-and-forth, persuaded her to watch my chair while I rode the ride. It took a bit of explaining as to why I couldn't just leave it unattended, but she was helpful once she understood.
Notable exceptions for rides that did not require me to get out of my chair: 1) The cable car - I was really surprised. They have wheelchair accessible cars and place down a temporary (but rather steep) metal ramp for you to get onto; these cars have one seat for a companion. They pause the entire ride to allow you to get on without rushing. 2) Ocean Express - however if it's a busy time, expect to be sharing with a lot of prams. I believe there are a couple others but the website is not the most informative so I would recommend contacting them by email.
Overall, I was apprehensive before going but had a lovely time. The only negative thing is that you can't really just turn around and say you want to go again - at least I didn't dare ask!
For additional detailed accessibility information, please contact: gr@oceanpark.com.hk
